SASOD Closes LGBT Pride Month with Fundraising Cabaret Show

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is bringing the curtains down on the celebrations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride Month in Guyana with its Spectrum Cabaret Night this evening, Saturday, June 27 at the Dutch Bottle Café at 10 North Road, Bourda (between Light and Cummings Streets) in Georgetown, Guyana.

The two-hour stage show will start at 19:00 hrs and is expected to be an edgy, sensational and provocative event. A number of talented Guyanese singers, poets, dancers, designers and musicians are slated to entice the audience with their spectacular performances. These include Gavin Mendonca, LLoyda Nicholas, Keimo Benjamin, Travis Bowen, Royston Glasgow, Elsie Harry-Ross, Ryan Berkeley, Dominic Alleyne, Raphael Marcus and other talented Guyanese entertainers. 

 Destra Saul and Raphael Marcus, two of the talented Guyanese youth slated to perform this evening

Tickets cost $1,000 in advance and are available at That Look Boutique, 235 South Road, Oasis Café, 125 Carmichael Street, and SASOD’s office, 169 Charlotte Street. Admission costs $1,500 at the door. Special cabaret-themed cocktails and mocktails will also be on sale.  All proceeds go directly to SASOD’s LGBT Community Centre Fund. Free, onsite HIV counseling and testing, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Advancing Partnerships and Communities (APC) Project, will also be available to all attendees.

Painting the Spectrum 11 Closes with Films from Uganda, Mexico and Guyana

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) will bring the curtains down on its eleventh lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film festival, “Painting the Spectrum 11,” next week with three poignant films exploring homophobia, sexuality diversity and resistance  in the developing world.

The final week begins with a documentary based in Uganda which explores the dangers of imported homophobia.  On Tuesday, June 23, the international award-winning documentary “Call Me Kuchu,” which was donated by the High Commission of Canada to Guyana,  will be screened. In Uganda, the ‘Kill the Gays’ bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. The late David Kato, Uganda’s first openly gay man, and retired Anglican Bishop Christopher Senyonjo work against the clock to defeat state-sanctioned homophobia while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one is prepared for the brutal murder that shakes their movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world.

Love and Passion Permeate Painting the Spectrum 11 This Week

The penultimate week of Painting the Spectrum 11: SASOD's annual LGBT film festival will screen two attention-grabbing films on about gender, love, family, passion and relationships.

On Tuesday, June 16, Spectrum 11 will screen “Southern Comfort,” a celebrated film, famous for high levels of critical praise and the winner of nearly 20 major film festivals including the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. “Southern Comfort” has fascinated audiences with its remarkable fusion of humour, tragedy and romance. This beautiful love story will take viewers on a journey into the life of Robert Eads, a 52-year-old, wise-cracking cowboy, warm and gregarious, who was born female and later transitioned into living as a man after bearing two sons. The film finds Robert fifteen years later during the extraordinary last year of his life as he falls headlong into a passionate romance with Lola, a vivacious and magnetic woman who was born male. This extraordinary film explores issues surrounding gender, family, love and relationships.
Then on Thursday, June 18, the festival heats up with the screening of “A Perfect Ending.”  This sexy and fun romantic drama stars Jessica Clark (True Blood’s Lilith) and TV icon Barbara Niven. It tells the story of straight and married Rebecca (Niven) who seeks out the sexual services of high-riced call girl Paris (Clark) but she isn’t expecting to fall in love. “A Perfect Ending” is filled to the brink with aching desire, and the sexual chemistry between Niven and Clark is off the charts. This ‘opposites attract,’ edge-of-your-seat lesbian romance is a glossy, sexy and fun romantic drama guaranteed to earn a fresh array of fans for veteran writer-director Nicole Conn.

“No Easy Walk to Freedom” and “Punks” Screen This Week at Painting the Spectrum 11

Painting the Spectrum 11 continues this week with one documentary and a movie highlighting the struggles lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals face fighting for law reform and the dilemmas in intimate partner relationships.   

On Tuesday, June 9, Spectrum 11 will screen “No Easy Walk to Freedom”. Filmed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Lucknow and rural India, “No Easy Walk to Freedom”, by Nancy Nicol, tells the story of the struggle to strike down section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalizes homosexuality. Told through the voices of lawyers, activists and community leaders, “No Easy Walk to Freedom” exposes human rights violations perpetrated under section 377 and documents the growth of queer organizing in India in the context of this historic legal battle to overturn a colonial-era law.
The screening of “No Easy Walk to Freedom” will be followed by a panel discussion of Guyanese professionals and community experts examining the struggles for constitutional and law reform for LGBT Guyanese, with a particular focus on the constitutional challenge to the cross-dressing law and plans of the new coalition government which campaign on platforms of inclusive democracy, national unity and gender equality.

 And then on Thursday, June 11, “Punks”, a romantic comedy exploring the trials and tribulations of black gay men will be screened. “Punks” tell the tale of four gay African-American friends in Los Angeles, USA. - shy, virginal photographer Marcus (Seth Gilliam), outgoing lethario Hill (Dwight Ewell), hot-to-trot rich kid newbie Dante (Renoly Santiago), and fabulous drag diva Crystal (Jazzmun). When the hunky Darby (Rockmond Dunbar) moves in next door to Marcus, the foursome wonder if the seemingly straight music producer might be bendable when Marcus strikes up a close friendship with the new neighbour. Meanwhile, Hill struggles in the aftermath of a breakup with his French husband (Rudolf Martin); young Dante struggles to find himself; and diva Crystal deals with the trials of having a high-profile, closeted celebrity boyfriend. “Punks” is an award-winning and ground-breaking romantic comedy.

The film festival continues on Tuesdays and Thursdays in June commencing at 6 pm in the evenings at SASOD’s office located at 169 Charlotte Street. Lacytown, Georgetown. There is no charge for admission to attend the film festival. Drinks and snacks will be on sale. All firms are intended for mature audiences. Person must be 18 years and over to attend. Free, onsite HIV counseling and testing, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Advancing Partnerships and Communities (APC) Project, will also be available.

Painting the Spectrum 11 concludes on Saturday, June 27, with Spectrum Cabaret Night at the Dutch Bottle Café, 10 North Road, Bourda (between Light and Cummings Streets) in Georgetown commencing at 7 pm. Tickets cost $1,000 in advance and $1,500 at the door.